About Us

For at least the last 40 years we have researched our St.John family history and have been delighted with the discovery of many maternal family relations.

As readers at the British Library and the National Library of Wales we have been able to see, handle, and read many primary sources which are now kept at these national institutions.
Visiting the many castles, houses and churches used by the extended family has allowed us to imagine how our relations lived in years gone bye. Several visits have rewarded us with extra information from primary sources which are not yet recorded elsewhere.
While travelling around Britain we have stumbled over evidence of the family's connections with parts of the country we had not previously associated with our past cousins.

Our 14th great grandmother Baroness Margaret Beauchamp
married Sir Oliver St.John of Fonmon in the 15th century

The family estates inherited from Sir Oliver St.John (c.1398 - 1437) of Fonmon, Glamorgan included the estates of Margaret Beauchamp his wife. Bletsoe, Bedfordshire and Lydiard, Wiltshire were two areas which came to the family through this marriage. John St.John the elder son inherited Fonmon & Bletsoe and several other areas of land, but his younger brother Oliver was given Lydiard Tregoze. Ever since that time the descendants from John have been known as St.Johns of Bletsoe and those from Oliver are St.Johns of Lydiard.

The present Lord St.John of Bletsoe is a member of the House of Lords

There are still two estates which once belonged to the family that are visited by the public.
Fonmon in Glamorganshire is now owned by the descendants of the Jones family who purchased the castle in 1656 from Oliver St.John of Bletsoe, 2nd Earl Bolingbroke. Sir Brooke Boothby who inherited Fonmon discovered that his family line can also be traced back to the St.John family.
Lydiard House & Park in Wiltshire was ackquired by the Swindon Council in 1943 and renovated to create a public Parkland and the Mansion houses a Museum Collection mainly dedicated to the St.Johns of Lydiard.

Both venues are open in the summer months please check their websites
Lydiard House & Park website
Fonmon Castle website

Final bid from Lydiard Heritage Trust

The Lydiard Heritage Trust have submitted a bid to take over the management of Lydiard Park. The not-for-profit community Trust hope to win the bid and give the House & Park a secure furure as a public open-space park with a centre of heritage. They plan to maintain and develop the Museum collections while supporting historical research and preserving the extensive archive held in the House.

The Friends of Lydiard Park organise a Public meeting to discuss the future of Lydiard Park

Following an on-line petition with a simultaneous hard copy petition (for those not on-line) where more than 10,000 people stated their concern that Lydiard Park might be taken over by a commercial venture rather than a community Trust, the Friends of Lydiard Park arranged a public meeting and invited Council representatives, MPs and other Stake Holders to meet and listen to each others views about the future of Lydiard Park.